San Clemente is getting a new hub for hands-on gardening education, as Bella Collina San Clemente has been officially designated as a project venue for the University of California Master Gardener Program.
The designation was formalized during a March 24 meeting attended by representatives from Bella Collina, the UC Cooperative Extension and city leadership.
The newly established garden area at Bella Collina will serve as both a project and teaching site for UC Master Gardeners, expanding access to programming in South Orange County, where participants have historically had to travel farther north to take part in classes and volunteer work.
Orange County Master Gardener Coordinator Randy Musser said the program is part of a broader statewide effort to bring university-backed research directly into local communities.
“The UC Master Gardeners are a program of UC Cooperative Extension,” Musser said. “That’s how the university works with counties to extend research-based information to the public.”
Musser explained that the program operates under the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which oversees research centers across the state, including the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Orange County.
“And then Cooperative Extension brings that research into communities through programs like Master Gardeners, 4-H, and Integrated Pest Management, which focuses on the least toxic ways to manage pests,” he said.
The Bella Collina site is expected to function as a teaching space for a range of gardening disciplines, including vegetable gardening, composting, citrus pruning, hydroponics and native plant landscaping.
To maintain their certification, UC Master Gardeners are required to complete 25 hours of volunteer service and 12 hours of continuing education annually. The new site will help support those requirements while also offering more opportunities for public engagement.
Don Echelberger, the project’s lead gardener, said the effort has been in the works for nearly a year and will continue to develop over time.
“I have been working on this project since last May,” Echelberger said in an email following the event. “The University of California moves very slowly. I will be the lead gardener but will have many sub-leads to make it all work.”
He added that the site will also serve as a community resource, with public programming already in the works.
“We will be using your paper to advertise upcoming events, all open to the public,” he said in the email. “We already have a commitment to have a rose pruning class this fall. … It won’t all happen overnight, but we will be making steady progress.”
The garden is open to UC Master Gardeners and is expected to host future workshops and educational events as it continues to grow.
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